Method of making a sling



July 10, 1956 A. P. PENTA 2,753,751

METHOD OF MAKING A SLING Filed Jan. 26, 1953 [mem: m55/Q7 P105/vm,

Unitedv States Patent METHD F MAKING A SLING Albert P. Penta, New Haven, Conn.

Application January 26, 1953, Serial No. 333,236

6 Claims. (Cl. 87--8) This invention relates to a braided. sling andto. a method of making the same and more particularly to a 6-part sling with closed or solid' fittings attached' to each end. Prior to my invention such slings were usually made from three separate pieces of wire rope so that it was necessary to form three splices in each sling. Since the making of a splice takes considerable time and must be done by hand the cost of such a sling is high. Furthermore, the old 6-part slings would not lie fiat.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a braided sling made of a single length of wire rope.

Another object is to provide such a sling having closed fittings attached to each end.

Still another object is to provide a method of making the slings mentioned above.

These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure l is a view showing the first step in the forming of the sling of my invention;

Figure 2 is a view showing the second step in the forming of the sling;

Figure 3 is a view showing a third step in the forming of the sling;

Figure 4 is a view showing the sling with the braiding operation completed;

Figure 5 is a View of the completed sling; and

Fig. 6 is a view showing a modified and preferred third step in the forming of a sling.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a single piece of wire rope R, having a length sufficient to form a completed sling, is provided. An end 2 thereof is passed through the opening 4 in a fitting 6 and brought back to a position adjacent the other end 8 of the wire rope R as shown in Figure l, thus forming a U-shaped member. The two ends 2 and 8 are then threaded in the same direction through the opening 10 in a second fitting 12 as shown in Figure 2. The fittings 6 and 12 are separated by a distance corresponding to the length required in the completed sling. The ends 2 and 8 are then threaded through the opening 4 in one direction and brought back adjacent the fitting 12. This may be done by having the legs B parallel to legs A as shown in Figure 3 but is preferably done by crossing legs B over legs A as shown in Figure 6. During this threading operation the fittings 6 and 12 may be held in the desired position in any suitable manner such as by retaining pins (not shown). The parts of the wire rope passing through the opening 4 are formed into three loops of uniform size so as to form an eye 14. Wire seizing 16 is then preferably applied at the throat of the loop ends to hold the loops in position. However, the seizing 16 is not always necessary. The ropes are then separated into three pairs of legs or sections A, B and C, the pair A being the first pair passing from the fitting 6 to the fitting 12, the pair B being the pair passing from the fitting 12 to the fitting 6 and the pair C being the pair including the free ends 2 and 8. The three pairs of legs are then braided together ice Z. as in a 3-part braid with the legs being handled in pairs. This is done in the usual manner with the outside pair being transferred to the inside and the inside pair being transferred to the outside. As each pair of legs is being transferred from outside to inside it is rolled into position allowing twist to accumulate in the free unbraided portion of the pair of legs. When this pair of legs is transferred from inside to outside the accumulated twist will be dissipated. The braiding is continued with no crossovers for the desired length and two loops are then formed' at' thev opposite endl of the sling of the desired size as shown in Figure' 4. Wire seizing 18 may be applied around the rope at the throat of the loops and also around the free pair C. The seizing 16 and 18 is omitted in Figure 4 for the purpose of more clearly showing the braid'. One of the free ends is then passed through the eye 10, the free ends are cut to the-desired` length, and spliced together to form a threaded loop the same size as the other two loops.

A 6-part sling may also be made in essentially the sam'e manner as above kwhere the eyes of the sling do not pass through a closed type fitting. In doing so the rope will bev passed around spaced apart pins rather than through eyes as shown. It will be seen that the sling in F each case includes a body portion and an eye portion at each end with the body portion being formed of six rope sections braided together in pairs.

An S-part braided sling can also be made in a similar manner by using a longer length of rope for the same length sling and passing the free ends of the rope through the eye 10 for the second time and returning the ends 2 and 8 to a point adjacent the fitting 6. The ropes are then arranged into two groups of three rope sections each and one group which includes the free ends 2 and 8. The braiding will be done in the same manner as in the first embodiment except that an additional rope will be in two of the groups being braided. The rope sections, including the free ends, will always form one of the groups in the braiding operation.

While several embodiments of my invention have been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. The method of making a braided sling having an equal number of parts which comprises providing a wire rope of the required length, bending the rope upon itself to form an equal number of legs with two of the legs having a free end, arranging the legs into three groups of at least two in each group, one of said groups including the legs with the free ends, forming an eye in said legs at the end opposite the free ends, braiding the groups of the legs together starting at the eye and continuing the length of the sling, splicing the free ends of the rope together and forming an eye in the legs at the end opposite the first eye.

2. The method of making a 6-part braided sling which comprises providing a wire rope of the required length, bending the rope upon itself to form two legs of substantially the same length, bending the two legs back on themselves to form four legs, two of which are of approximately twice the length of the other two, bending the two long legs back on themselves whereby four legs of approximately the same length and two longer legs are formed, the longer legs including the free ends, forming an eye at the closed end of the six legs, braiding the legs of the rope together in pairs starting at the eye and continuing the length of the sling, then splicing the free ends of the rope together, and forming an eye at the other end of the legs.

3. The method of making a 6-part braided sling having a closed fitting at each end which comprises providarsenal ing a wire rope of the required length, passing one end of the rope through the eye of one of said ttings and bringing it back adjacent the other end of the rope, passing the free ends of said rope through the eye of the other of said `fittings and bringing them back adjacent the first fitting, then passing the free ends of said rope through the eye of the rst iitting and bringing them back adjacent the other fitting, braiding the -legs of the rope together in pairs starting at the eye and continuing the length of the sling, and then splicing the free ends of the rope together.

4. A braided wire rope sling formed from a single rope comprising a body portion and an eye portion at each end thereof, said body portion comprising an equal number of rope sections braided together in three groups all in one direction from one end of the sling with at least two sections in each group, at least one of said groups containing only two sections, and a splice in one of said eye portions connecting the sections of rope in the lastnamed group.

5. A 6-part braided wire rope sling formed from a single rope comprising a body portion and an eye portion at each end thereof, said body portion comprising six rope sections braided together in pairs all in one direction from one end of the sling, and a splice in one of said eye portions connecting the sections of rope in one of said pairs.

6, The method of making a braided sling having au equal number of parts which comprises providing a wire rope of the required length, bending the rope upon itself to form two legs of substantially the same length, bending the two legs back on themselves to form four legs, two of which are approximately a multiple of the length of the other two, forming an equal number of legs by bending the two long legs with two of the legs having a free end, the legs having the free end being longer than the other legs, arranging the legs into three groups of at least two in each group, one of said groups including the legs with the free ends, forming an eye in said legs at the end opposite the free ends, braiding the groups of the legs together starting at the eye and continuing the length of the sling, splicing the free ends of the rope together and forming an eye in the legs at the end opposite the rst eye.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,524,671 Nyman et al. Feb. 3, 1925 2,442,175 Mitchell May 25, 1948 2,448,463 Robbins Aug. 3l, 1948 

